Quincy Mining Company Stamp Mills Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Addition to Stamp Mill Number One in 2010
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Location	M-26 near Torch Lake, Osceola Township
Coordinates	47°8′48″N 88°27′36″W / 47.14667°N 88.46000°W / 47.14667; -88.46000
Area	350 acres (140 ha)
Built	1888
Architectural style	Colonial Revival
NRHP reference  No.	07000750 [1]
Added to NRHP	July 18, 2007

The Quincy Mining Company Stamp Mills Historic District is a historic stamp mill (used to crush copper-bearing rock, separating the copper ore from surrounding rock) located on M-26 near Torch Lake, just east of Mason in Osceola Township. ^[2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. ^[1]

Original stamp mill (1860–1888)

The original Quincy Stamp Mill was built in 1860 on Portage Lake ^[2] in Hancock, close to the Quincy Mine. ^[3] This facility, however, dumped an enormous amount of sand tailings into the lake, and the sand soon threatened to encroach on the navigable channel of the lake. ^[3] In the mid-1880s, the federal government set minimum harbor lines and stiff penalties for breaching them, ^[4] and eventually filed suit against the Quincy Mine for dumping in Portage Lake. ^[5] In addition, Quincy was in the process of acquiring the nearby Pewabic Mine, and management knew they would need to increase the company's stamping capacity. ^[6]

Stamp mills require a large amount of water to operate, and so are invariably located near a large body of water; this limited the range of sites in which a new mill could be placed. ^[7] After some analysis, the Quincy management decided on Torch Lake as the site for the new mill and purchased 300 acres on the shore, ^[5] some six miles east of the previous location. ^[3]

Construction of stamp mill (1888–1894)

Work began on the new stamp mill in 1888. ^[2] The first building constructed was a boarding house, followed by a dock, cistern, and foundations for other buildings. ^[8] In 1889, six substantial frame buildings were constructed on site, as well as a railway connecting the stamp mill to the mine, and stamping equipment was installed. ^[8] Mill number one was a wooden structure measuring 198 feet by 120 feet. ^[9] The pump and boiler house were located on the south side of the roadway that is now M-26. ^[9] It was a stone structure measuring 154 feet by 56 feet. ^[10] An elevated conduit carried water and steam over the road to the mill, and handling facilities were built at the dock. ^[10] The facility was completed and opened for milling in 1890. ^{[3] [8]} The site originally had two stamps; a third was added immediately after opening, ^[9] and two more were added in 1892. ^[2]

More structures were added to the site over time, beginning with extensions to the dock in 1890 and 1891, an addition to the boiler house in 1891, ^[11] and additions to the mill in 1891 and 1892. ^[12] In all, the Quinct Mine spent $457,000 between 1888 and 1894 in constructing and equipping their new mill site, of which $182,000 went to the mill and its stamping equipment. ^[13]

Second mill and additions (1894–1922)

However, as early as 1894, mine production outstripped the capacity of the mill, and a new mill was planned. ^[14] The second stamp mill was built just north of the first; ^[2] this mill was an iron-framed structure measuring 132 feet by 216 feet. ^[15] It was constructed in 1899 by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company at a cost of $22,450. ^[15] The second mill opened in late 1900 with three mills. ^{[14] [15]} To service the additional capacity, new boiler and pump house buildings were also constructed. ^[16] Over the next two decades, minor alterations were made to the structures of the complex (including the erection of a new 175-foot smokestack for the boilerhouse in 1916) ^[17] while the milling process and machinery were continuously refined.

However, the rise in the price of copper during World War I provided both impetus and resources for expansion of the site. ^[18] Reinforced concrete and brick additions to both stamp mills were constructed in 1919; ^[19] the addition to mill no. 1 was 123 feet by 215 feet, and the addition to mill no. 2 was 91 feet by 132 feet. ^[18] The additions were equipped and functioning by 1920. ^[19] The mill also changed their production of electrical power, building a structure to house a new turbine near mill no. 1. ^[20] Construction on the new building, a brick structure measuring 36 feet by 38 feet by 45 feet high, began in 1921; the turbine was online in 1923. ^[21]

Decline (1922 – present)

However, the mill began to decline after the end of the war. In 1922, the second mill was closed. ^[19] Additional equipment was installed in mill no. 1 as technology improved, including labor-saving devices installed in 1929 and 1930. ^[22] However, the Great Depression hit the mining industry hard, and the Quincy Mine closed in 1931, shuttering the Stamp Mills. ^[22]

As the Depression wound onward, copper prices rebounded, and the mine and mills were refurbished in late 1937 and re-opened on a limited scale in early 1938. ^[23] However, the mine was only barely profitable, and after World War II ended, and with it the price guarantees from the federal government, the mine and stamp mills closed permanently. ^[24]

Mill number two was demolished early, ^[3] as well as the original portions of mill number one, but the later additions to mill number one remain.

Further reading

• Charles F. O'Connell, "Quincy Mining Company: Stamp Mills and Milling Technology, c. 1860–1931", Quincy Mining Company, Hancock, Houghton, MI, HAER MI-2, Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey, pp. 563–640

References